Your All-Time Favorite Spider-Man Artist Grew Up in Washington State

Who Created Spawn For Image Comics?

In the late 1980s, a young artist named Todd McFarlane made a name for himself in the world of comic books.

His dynamic artwork and superhero characters soon caught the eye of Marvel Comics, who hired him to work on some of their most popular titles, including Spider-Man.

Today, McFarlane is best known as the creator of Image Comics' Spawn series. But before he was a world-renowned comic book artist, he was just a teen going to college in Spokane, Washington.

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Was Todd McFarlane Born In Washington State?

Todd McFarlane was born in 1961 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

After graduating from high school, McFarlane attended Eastern Washington University in Cheney Washington with the goal of becoming a Major League Baseball Player.

However, after a few setbacks, he realized that a professional ball player career wasn't in the cards for him so he started focusing on his art while his future wife Wanda finished up her degree in Spokane. McFarlane often talks about living in a trailer park in Cheney during the lean years.

Todd McFarlane Did A Few Independent Comic Books Before DC And Marvel Stardom

Fortunately, his talent for art led him to a career in comic books. He landed gigs at both DC and Marvel Comics. It was while working on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man that McFarlane gained international attention for his unique style of artwork.

In 1992, McFarlane co-founded Image Comics with several other artists who were dissatisfied with the big comic publishers at the time. Image Comics gave them complete creative control over their titles, which allowed McFarlane to finally realize his full potential as an artist.

It was here that he created Spawn, one of the most popular comic book characters of all time. The Spawn series has been running continuously since 1992 and has spawned (no pun intended) a number of spinoffs, movies, video games, and toys.

These days, Todd McFarlane calls Arizona home. He's come a long way from his humble beginnings and time in Spokane and as you flip through your favorite Spider-Man comics, you'll know that some of his inspirations might've come from his time in Washington State.